Ringke Air Prism Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+ review: A smokey case with grip and glitter

Who says a glitter case can't be sophisticated?

Glitter cases aren't exactly hard to come by in the smartphone case market, but they have a tendency to shed. Surface glitter will run off your case onto your hands; rhinestones will fall, leaving unsightly gaps. Their surfaces can be coarse and uncomfortable. Above all else, glitter cases tend to be a bit garish, with some looking like they fell through a Lisa Frank bedazzler.

Thank goodness the Ringke Air Prism case for the Samsung Galaxy S9+ is none of these things. This thin case has a subtle shine, the glitter is securely suspended within the silicone in a tasteful, twinkling array, and its subtle geometric texture adds both grip and style.

Ringke Air Prism Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+

Price: $9.99-$10.99

Bottom line: Ringke's Air Prism case adds some shimmer and lightweight protection to your phone without getting in the way of your phone's natural style.

The Good

• Lightweight shimmer that doesn't shed
• Texture provides good grip in-hand
• Wide port cutouts and gentle slope to fingerprint sensor

The Bad

• Phone grips slip off the uneven silicone back
• Limited color options

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Shine bright like a diamond

Ringke Air Prism Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+ What I like

It's very easy to do a glitter case wrong, but when you do it right, it just looks like a gem, and the Air Prism looks like a gem. The translucent silicone is speckled with a tasteful amount of glitter, giving it some shine in the sunlight without turning your case into a disco ball. I had misgivings about the gray of this case, but since the case is translucent, just enough of the blue below bleeds through to make the case seem navy.

The result is a case that adapts well to different colors of phone while maintaining a unique shimmering shine. That shine is helped along by a shallow angular texture on the back that's reminiscent of another geometric beauty I adore. While this case appears quite slick, it's actually quite grippy, both in the hand and on the tabletop.

As a case, it's very easy to slip the phone in and out, but the silicone isn't so flimsy that the phone will pop out on its own. The grip around the sides of this case are excellent, and the buttons are firm and still satisfyingly clicky through the thin silicone covering. The port cutouts are wide, especially around the USB-C port, so that even boxy, bulky OTG adapters and cables will fit easily around them. The silicone under the fingerprint sensor is gently sloped, helping guide you up to the sensor without sliding you up too far to smudge the camera lens.

Better hold on tight

Ringke Air Prism Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+ What doesn't work

This is a very lightweight, silicone case, and as such it's not going to provide the best protection against drops. That's the trade-off that comes with every light-duty case, but you can usually offset at least some of that extra risk — and add some functionality — by using a phone grip like a PopSocket or Ringke Ring, but that's not an option here.

This smooth, silicone, textured back is just slippery enough and just uneven enough that phone grips just won't stick. The Air Prism is grippy enough on its own, even on a sweaty Texas afternoon — and not everyone needs or wants a phone grip — but for those of us who need a little help one-handing a large phone like the Samsung Galaxy S9+, we'll have to look elsewhere.

The only complaint to be had here is that while the Glitter Gray is a beauty, it's also the only variant of the Air Prism case to feature that beautiful starry shimmer. The other variants of the Air Prism are a Clear silicone, a transparent Rose Gold Crystal, and a solid Black. Each color is beautiful in its own right, but it'd be nice to have seen a Glitter Glass or Rose Gold Glitter.

Ringke Air Prism Case for Samsung Galaxy S9+

Finding a good smartphone case that isn't boring, bulky, or ugly has always been something of a challenge. Finding one that's stylish without being blinding is darn near impossible, but Ringke gives us style and shine with moderation and excellent functionality with the Air Prism case.

4.5 out of 5

While I wish there more glittery colors available, the Ringe Air Prism case offers a great glitter case, and the other variants ensure that even if you're not about the glitter, you can get a stylish textured case that still lets your Galaxy's beauty shine through.

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